


Greatest Fears

by InsanityIsClarity



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: AU, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, awkward varian, be very afraid tag, eugene's biggest fear isn't a cowlick, love cassandra but nope, originally on Tumblr, rapunzel's isn't losing cassandra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22264876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanityIsClarity/pseuds/InsanityIsClarity
Summary: In Be Very Afraid, Eugene’s biggest fear is a cowlick and Rapunzel’s is losing Cassandra as a friend… What if, instead, both of their biggest fears were the same thing: Gothel, alive, chain in one hand and knife in the other?
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Gothel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Gothel & Rapunzel (Disney), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 176





	Greatest Fears

**Author's Note:**

> Orignially posted on Tumblr

They're standing on the streets when it happens.

They’re standing in the streets, getting a bit too close to the rocks, when it happens.

“She’s here…” Rapunzel whispers, freezing in fear. This is the woman who she had loved, who had pretended to love her for 18 years, before trying to chain her up forever.

“She’s here,” Eugene repeats, not shutting down quite as much as Rapunzel. He hadn’t lived with her for 18 years, after all, but she had stabbed him, and he holds a hand to his stomach while he moves to stand between Rapunzel and the witch. “How is she here?”

Eugene stepping between Rapunzel and Gothel slows down the rise of the red freeze creeping up her body some, but it’s still creeping up rather fast, on her and Eugene.

“I-I don’t know,” Rapunzel answers, trembling.

“Wh-what are you guys looking at?” Varian has walked up now, holding a frozen Ruddiger. He’s not sure why his beloved pet has become so stiff all of the sudden, but seeing his two friends- they’re his friends! (or at least the Rapunzel is)- shaking while staring at nothing makes it rather clear rather fast.

“M-mother.” Rapunzel doesn’t turn to face Varian at all, unable to tear her eyes away from the apparition, but pushes the alchemist behind her regardless.

“N-now, listen here!” Eugene commands, “You are not going to hurt her- or me- ever again, you hear that? You have no power!”

“What are you going to do to me this time, you fraud? Try to kill me again?” Gothel smirks, taking a step forward and drawing the knife. Before she can get any further, she’s blocked by hair. A whole lot of hair, in the shape of a dome, surrounding her flower and the girl’s two friends.

Inside the dome, Varian tries to explain the situation. “It’s not real,” he says. “Whatever it is, it’s not real. I’ve only been able to study the changes in the rocks for a couple of hours, but they seem to be showing people their greatest fears. Except-except you two see the same person? What’s going on? Who is it?” he rambles. He doesn’t mean to pry, not really, but they’re freaking out, and it’s making him freak out, and he can’t stop himself.

Before they can answer, however, a voice from the outside is heard. “Rapunzel! How dare you kill your own mother? I always knew it would end badly if you left, and I was right, as always!” 

“It-it only ended badly for you!” Rapunzel shouts. Eugene holds her close, while Varian is still looking around, trying to figure out what is going on. 

“It’s okay, Blondie,” Eugene soothes. He puts his hands over her ears. “I don’t think you should be listening to this.” He’s referring to the tirade that has started back up again, Gothel’s voice beginning to crescendo into screams and obscenities about how awful a daughter Rapunzel was.

Maybe Varian should be doing something here, but he has no idea what is going on here, only that it’s something that’s awful and probably completely out of his depths, so he stays still and silent. (He can’t see Quirin or the villagers from inside the hair dome, which is a… change from the past few hours.)

All of the sudden, everything goes silent (except for Varian, everything’s been (blessedly) silent for him this whole time). Hesitantly, Eugene lowers his hands from Rapunzel’s ears to her hands, and, even more hesitantly, the dome of hair lowers from around the trio.

What’s waiting for Rapunzel on the outside is somehow even worse: Gothel lying on the ground, withering away slowly and making awful pained sounds. 

What’s waiting for Eugene on the outside is definitely worse: Rapunzel lying on the ground, the knife from Gothel’s hand in her stomach, and Gothel laughing from above her.

What’s waiting for Varian on the outside is what he expected really, but he still can’t help himself.

“Dad!”

“Mother!”

“Rapunzel!”

The three run towards their respective dying loved one, and side by side collapse to their knees in despair.

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” Rapunzel and Eugene sob in sync, but Varian…

Varian has been dealing with this all day, and all of last night, and every night for over a year. He knows this isn’t real, even if it feels real. He does the only thing he can.

“It’s not real!” he shouts, and slaps his hands over their eyes. The abrupt action seems to snap them out of it enough for the red, which had reached their necks, to recede a little bit. “I’ve-I’ve seen this in a dream- in a- in a nightmare before, and I’m sure both of you have too!Think! _It’s not real_.”

His words reach them, and the red creeps back further. 

“You’re- you’re right,” Eugene realizes, “I’ve had this dream before, too many times, this can’t be real.”

“But it was real,” Rapunzel whispers, the tears that had sprung up in her eyes staying stubbornly in place.

Eugene wraps an arm around her once more. “And it’s not real any more.” Trying to liven up spirits some, and maybe actually _solve this problem_ , Eugene continues, looking up at the child scientist, “So, hair stripe, you seem to know what’s going on. What do we do?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Varian smiles a little, “Because I think I may just have a plan…”

**Author's Note:**

> And then the episode progresses as normally, but Varian is a little more subdued and doesn't bring up Rapunzel's fears because let's face it that kid doesn't know how to deal with emotion at all


End file.
